2025 was a whirlwind year for the Montana Food Bank Network, or MFBN. The organization, which distributes food to more than 300 partners across the state, faced unprecedented demand for its services last year. Factors included the federal government shutdown, interrupted SNAP benefits and high living expenses which never fully recovered from COVID-era price spikes.
With the holiday rush over, Network President and CEO Gayle Carlson says early indications suggest demand is stabilizing.
"December has pretty much gone back to its normal numbers again," Carlson says.
MFBN moved into its new Missoula headquarters this fall. It’s nearly twice the size of the former building and it’s already making a difference.
"We looked at the inventory that we had in our new warehouse here and it would have never fit in the old one," Carlson says. "So, we would have either had to, as we've done before, gotten offsite space to lease or we would've just not been able to serve the agencies with the capacity that we did.”
The Montana Food Bank Network this month is celebrating another milestone: the opening of its new repacking room. The space allows for more volunteers, doubling its capacity to pack bulk food for families and reducing costs in the process. The room was made possible by a $225,000 grant from Republic Services.
